Bern is the capital of Switzerland and gateway to the Alps. It’s a an attractive, recreation oriented city, sitting on a hilly peninsula surrounded by the Aare River. The Inner District, which contains the Old Town, sits 60m below the Kirchenfeld area on the east side of the Aare. There’s wonderful running in Bern, ranging from extensive river paths to numerous parks and wooded preserves. Trail running options abound as one heads toward the Bernese Alps, 20 km to the south. Note: Brücke=Bridge, Wald=Woods.
The best places to run in Bern center around both the Aare River, with paths on both banks heading north and south of the city. River paths also lead to signature parks such as Tierpark and Elfenau. Our ‘runseeing’ tour explores the UNESCO designated Old Town, as well as the museum district of Kirchenfeld. Another great run is around the extensive grounds of the iconic Paul Klee Museum. For some wooded trails, the Bremer Loop in Bremgartenwald is popular, as is running in the Reichenbachwald. For some pastoral and hilly trail running, take the funicular to the summit of Gurten, Bern’s ‘local mountain’, only 3 km from the city center.
Bern has an an excellent system of buses and trams, with trains leading further afield. Nearly all of our Bern routes are accessible via transport. Note that there can be snow and colder temperatures in winter, affecting surface conditions and some of the trails.
